Since our bananas are very sweet, I must remember to reduce the sugar next time. No nuts in the house, so I added a cupful of choc chips. Just what a gal back from the dentist need....moist, delicious banana bread. Thanks again, Ross!

Thanks alot for putting up that recipe, and also the link to the pages with the waffle recipes on em. I know what I'm having for breaky tomorrow! Currently building up the starter for banana bread tonight.

Made the banana bread tonight, and it was very nice, but I think that next time I will either drop the temp by 10 degrees, or reduce the cooking time by 5 mins, as it came out a tiny touch too dry (and a fraction burnt on the bottom). I like the simplicity of it, and the flavour it produces, though, so I will definitely be using this recipe alot in the future.

Stone fruit season hit here with cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums all at once, and my bananas kept ending up fruit fly incubators. I usually keep them around for Biking to keep the muscles happy. Then for some strange reason, since you posted this recipe the guys haven't left a single banana around to ripen!!! But here is a recipe for Sourdough Chocolate malt waffles that appeared in my King Arthur Flour Catalog. Humm... maybe thats where my bananas went!!? Thanks for reminding me about this recipe.

One hint instead of 1/2 cup of chocolate malt powder I used 3 tablespoons of malt and about a third of a cup of non-fat (non-instant) milk powder mixed together. These waffles are great with just fresh banana slices and a little bit of whipped cream and some walnuts. They also make a pretty impressive dessert the way that they presented them on the site. I froze the rest to make mini dessert waffle sundaes with.

Bit concerned to learn that both you and TeckPoh turned out banana bread that was too dry! The recipe has produced really moist banana bread for me - about as good as it gets. Hmmm, wonder why this difference?

Thinking about it, I have to admit I often cook by feel, which means I do refer to a recipe when it's something I haven't done before, but tend to exercise my own discretion re quantities - ie: don't necessarily measure everything precisely, relying on sensing that the consistency of the finished batter is "right". I also check the colour of the bread in the oven and may reduce or extend the baking time according to whether it looks finished. I am so used to doing this, I can't recall whether I reduced or extended the baking time for this one. Mine was cracked on top, but golden brown and as I said, lovely and moist inside (and it stayed so for the 3 days or so the bread lasted before we scoffed it all). Actually, I think I ended up extending the baking time, because it was still too moist with an initial toothpick test. The plot thickens...

Also, I think the original recipe had 1 cup of mashed banana. I know that the first time I tried this recipe, I mashed up one banana and mixed it in without measuring, then thought the batter could take another one, so added that too. I may have ended up with more than a cup. Also, my bananas were pretty soft - OK for shakes or cakes, but not for eating on their own. Maybe this made some difference to the moisture content.

Next time I bake this banana bread I'll take more careful note of quantities and report back with any adjustments to my posted recipe that might make a difference for you guys - but you'll probably make your own adjustments in the meantime. I do reckon it's worth another go with this recipe...as I said, for me it worked brilliantly.

Terri! You're not doing much for our household campaign to keep off winter fat this year! Your choc waffles sound yummo...next in the queue!

Your teaspoon and measuring tablespoon, by the way, are 50 percent larger than our teaspoon and tablespoon. We're starting to feel inadequate. "

That is why I started after 45 years of using cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, and oz's to baking by weight -grams weights mostly. Some good american standards are= a cup of water weighs around 240g and that most flours are around 125g. Most dry tsp's are about 5g wet varies by the viscosity of the liquid.

Yeah, Terri, that could possibly explain some of the inconsistencies of outcome - but not all, since trentmaier is in Oz also.

I completely agree that weight (gm) measurements are far preferable to volume. The original was in cups and teaspoons, and I got great results using Australian imperial cups/teaspoons. Interestingly enough, though, I think the measures in the original recipe were American!

Anyway, if anyone else wants to try the banana bread recipe, you might find the following useful, which include the vol measures I used:

But the difference in moisture content was only about 5.7% moister when overripe. If you take into account the starch changing to sugar this might make it a contributing factor. They talk about other chemical changes here but don't discuss them all. There is some discussion on ash content though. Not sure exactly what these figures mean so maybe the professional food chemists in our group might give it a shot and explain their analysis. The study was found here:

Thanks for all the pointers and stuff regarding volumes, etc... its amazing that there can be such discrepancy between countries! For what its worth, I just used regular Aussie cup measures, and the dough was quite wet, I think that I just overcooked it a litte too much. The bottom ended up pretty much black, so next time I make it (and I will be, quite often), I will probably drop the heat back to 325F, and reduce the cooking time by 5 mins. On top of that, I will also keep a closer eye on the bread as it is baking!

The other option is my oven is about 35 years old, and *may* not be very accurate, or well dispersed as far as heat goes.

I was always under the impression that an English pint was 20oz (570mL) and a US pint was 16oz (454mL/1lb), rather than the US pint being larger - at least I know those are the measurements in beer (the subject I know most about!). Either way, I think you should end up in the ballpark if you use the same cups for each measurement?

I had little idea that there could be as much chemistry involved in baking as there seems to be after reading the above posts, though again, I know from brewing beer that there is HEAPS of chemistry stuff going on, I just dont understand it! LOL.

Thanks very much, Terri, for taking the time to link the study on bananas, I will go and have a read now. Great to be on a site where there is so much knowledged shared about.

As an aside, I was very happy with the banana bread recipe, I would like to say I dont think the fault lies with the recipe, but rather with this here baker. The flavour was excellent, and I look forward to trying it a little moister next time...

I had a go at this yesterday, following Ross's recipe. I made a few little variations. I just used the aussie 250 ml metric cup to measure with. I added 3 bananas because they were a bit small. I also used a bit more sourdough starter because I had more than a cup ready to go and so I added some more flour and oil. For the sugar I used 1/3 of a cup brown sugar and 2/3 white sugar. Lastly, as well as the walnuts, I added some bits of dark chocolate (a la TP ) and a few pieces of dried grapes just for he hell of it.

The result was very tasty and as with some others I realised I need to adjust cooking time. After 30 minutes when I checked it was almost burnt on top and the inside was still sticky. So I put some aluminium foil on top and turned the oven down. I pulled it out at about 50 minutes and when I cut it after it had cooled I thought it was on the dry side. However TP is correct, today the bread is nice and moist.

Next time I will leave out the dried fruit and chocolate (bad habit of mine... adding too much stuff!) and keep it simple and watch the baking time carefully.

Thanks Ross, I have been meaning to try a SD Banana bread and your post got me going.

I baked the banana bread again last night, though used 3 medium sized bananas this time. I was at a friends house for dinner, and had to use their oven, and it ended up needing 1hr 20 mins to be ready! Either way, it forced me to keep an eye on it and it turned out really moist, and super tasty. Cooking time was definitely my problem, and gives me an excuse to bak it again soon, to mess about with times in my own oven.

Thanks for sharing this recipe Ross, have just taken my loaf out of the oven; the house smells sensational...looking forward to testing! I think this is also a good way to use up excess starter when I am not planning to actually bake bread for a day or two.

Haven't visited for a few days - good to learn of your results, Trent and Jane.

I'm hanging out to try this recipe again, but bananas have been expensive over my way, so waiting for the prices to retreat a little.

In the meantime, in between baking bread, I'm pigging out on sourdough pancakes. THAT's a pretty damned fine way to use up starter discard, too! I've got 'em pretty well sussed now, and am edging towards addiction.

Not sure this sourdough fixation is necessarily all that healthy, with the butter and honey and good thangs like that that go with it, but damn! - right now I just don't care. I'm thinkin' that when summer comes, it will be too hot to use the oven so much, so why not enjoy what's left of the cooler times and make the absolute most of...THE SOURDOUGH SEASON! Yes!

Umm no pics got eaten well and truly, did you tweak by adding more bananas. I'm partial to icing so might put that on next time, cheers again. have you made banana bread as in proper bread rather than cake like?

Well, that's a bit meaningless without taking the SIZE of the bananas into account. I don't know what's happened to my gram measures - they seem to have disappeared from the recipe!

I usually use 3 medium bananas now, but my medium might be your large, or small, depending on the variety of bananas available in your location. Anyway, will re-post with my gm weight measurements of all ingredients, plus my tweaks (ie: added milk for extra moisture plus fresh grated nutmeg, lemon zest, orange flower water and cinnamon, which I think lift the final result to a new level, adding complexity and depth to the flavour profile...also, I now prefer canola oil - or even better, butter - rather than light olive oil). And I've increased the amount of starter.

I'm not an icing fan, but regardless of that I think it might be a bit problematic icing this baby, since it always cracks open on top (at least, mine does). That would make icing a messy task - with an unsightly result, I suspect.

No, I have not made a bready bananabread, only this cakey one. Shiao-Ping did a nice-looking banana pain au levain. You might like to give that one a go. See recipe here.

No I didn't see them, but the verdict was any empty lunch box and a request for the same for lunch tomorrow from miss 5 and a big yummo! from mr 3.5 . I really like the flavour and think it has a better bread texture than a similar I make without the starter and with yoghurt, and similar quantities of everything else.

I've since modifed the recipe above - amped up the flavour with a few little additions and tweaked the composition a little to make it more moist. Have been meaning to post accordingly. Soon...

CheersRoss

Just a Hint - notice date above - still hoping that you might repost this with the weights and tweaks... Ripe bananas are languishing on my countertop.... Don't worry - I will tweak at will, for now:) You'll have to give a peak to my gallery...

The first time I tried this bread -- back when you posted it, the batter looked pretty moist so I swirled some Cocoa powder into the bread, it was really good.

Yesterday I substituted 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and used part sucanat and part tubinado sugar. I used the muffin method combining and mixing all the wet ingredients and sugars in the bowl first. Then I dry wisked the other dry ingredients together and folded them in with a danish dough wisk only about 12-15 swoops encluding the nuts. I use wheat germ and non-stick spray oil for the pan when I am baking sweet batters. I baked for 55 minutes but could have used less.

The flavor is very good but needs a bit more moisture, as the bread is a little too tender and crumbles when you cut it. I used a little extra walnuts and the orange zest and you are so right about the odor... Yum!

I'm thinking of adding a half cup of yogurt or non fat sour cream or reducing the flour. I will edit this later with exact measures. I have notes on every measurement - just curious on what your suggestions would be.

The flavour profile has changed considerably since I first posted the recipe, as have my quantities. Follow them, and there will be no issue with moisture content. This loaf is closer to cake than bread, but it should not be crumbly or dry at all.

Do try the recipe as it now is, Terri. I think you'll be surprised at just how good this is. Nice pics of your bakes!

Some might do a double take at the inclusion of orange flower water. I'd been making a lot of Moroccan dishes, and it suddenly occured to me that orange flower water was compatible with the flavour profile of the banana bread, and might add a little something special. We love the perfumed undertones it lends...but be sparing if you decide to give it a try. A little bit goes a long way. Try only a few drops the first time. The flavour should be barely discernible, just adding a hint of exotic intrigue.

Final note: be sure to use OVER-RIPE bananas. I find this is important both for the flavour and moisture content of the bread. The bananas need to be too soft to peel and eat. It's not until they get beyond ripe that the sugars develop enough to bring out their best in this bread. I've used them at the point at which the skins are black. I guess you'd draw the line at them fermenting, but anything short of that will be perfect for this recipe.

I was a bit surprised that you changed or removed the original post and recipe though. It makes it a bit harder to understand the rest of the posts here. I still have the page on my other computer I'll copy and send it to you. I will have to pick up a couple items before giving the new version a go. By the way what is Granola Oil?

Good one, HopesHope - glad you enjoyed it. Have a go at the exact recipe some time...it's the end result of much experimentation and tweaking...but of course, my taste and that of others may not necessarily coincide.

Actually, while I wouldn't want to leave out the walnuts, I can imagine brown sugar might be really good...that's something I haven't tried. Will do so next time I make this. Ta for the idea. Brown sugar can really add a little something extra to some recipes.

Your post reminds me that I intended to re-post the original recipe, which I deleted when I posted this modded version - Millciti had copied and pasted it, and kindly emailed it through to me, so I'd better get off my proverbial and attend to this.

I'm going to try this again, but with apples, dates cardamom, and cinnamon, lemon peel and juice

I did try the banana bread Ross, and found it to be a little bit dry, not to much, but found that if I kept it in a plastic bag, it got moist; I live in Manitoba Canada, and the cold sucks the moisture out of our skin and hair, so no wonder it was dry; lol just kidding.I only used 2 bananas as the recipe called for 2-4, and 2 was all I had at the time .I'm going to try it again but use more bananas. The bananas here are like medium I think the shredded apples [using 4] will provide the right amount of moisture it may need., we’ll see what happens.

I also didn't use loaf pans, I made it in a round cake pan instead, and it was beautiful.

Nice one, James! Yeah, the aroma during baking is one of the things I look most forward to with this recipe. Good luck with your apple compote version...I haven't tried doing it with only apple and no banana, so interested in the outcome. Shoud be great.

HopesHope,

Your mod sounds yummo.

With the original version, if it is not moist there are two reasons that spring immediately to mind:

2. Not enough milk. As indicated in the recipe, the milk is the ingredient used to achieve that batter consistency you're after. Get that right and the moisture level will be right also. Takes a little time to get the feel for what's "right" - I err on the side of too much milk rather than not enough. If you overdo the milk, you just need to bake a bit longer until the skewer comes out clean. If you use too little milk, you'll end up with a dry bananabread.

If you need to bake longer than the specified 60 mins, as per recipe directions make sure you cover with aluminium foil when the crust turns golden brown.

I made the above recipe this morning and was very pleased with the rise and look of this banana bread. I cut it this afternoon and it was a little on the dry side. I'm hoping letting it sit overnight wrapped up will increase the moisture. I should have added the third banana but wanted to make it like the recipe once before messing with it. It has a really great taste and I think tweaking it a little is all it needs.

Hi everyone, Can someone please tell my why the recipe has been removed from this page?? It says at the top "content removed by moderator". I would love to try this recipe, is it printed anywhere else?

I tried this recipe yesterday, making 18 muffins and a small loaf instead of the prescribed 2 loaves. I made a few modifications to the recipe based on necessity (I didn't have any ground ginger, nor did I have enough banana to compensate for the nectarine flesh). I substituted 1/2 teaspoon Jamaican Allspice for the 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and I used grated pink lady apple to fill out the banana/nectarine requirement. I also took the option for honey rather than brown sugar (organic Tournesol honey from Puycelsi, France, which is yummie!) and I added a few chopped walnuts.

The results were delicious; the apple added interesting texture. Next time I intend to use a bit less cinnamon; more banana. I like the apple in it; I chose that because my lovely starter smells a bit of apple. Very complementary.